Hurley’s Deepest UConn Team

[TheShot1990]

I can’t remember the last season we didn’t have a key player out with an injury for a period of time. So yes, we might only go nine deep but it will be a different nine in some games. Yes we are deep.

 

[uconngb]

The question was only related to teams since Hurley started at UConn not teams under any other coach.

Reading comprehension has never been a strong suit for this board

 

[Chin Diesel]

we always have fantasies of enormous depth before we play a game

-She.

 

[uconngb]

111

He adjusted for the exchange rate

 

[FlippinCrazy!]

To be fair, for those saying we say this every year, we had some unbelievable depth 2 of the past 3 years. Last year’s “depth” is pretty clearly different than this year. And really depth wasn’t the issue last year, it was the starters, which had a trickle down effect to the bench.

To me at least, the one question mark for this team is center. If Tarris can’t stay out of foul trouble, it puts a lot of pressure on a freshman who at this point, we have no clue what he’ll be. After that, if Koroma ends up getting meaningful minutes, we’ll either be really good or really bad.

 

[HW611]

To be fair, for those saying we say this every year, we had some unbelievable depth 2 of the past 3 years. Last year’s “depth” is pretty clearly different than this year. And really depth wasn’t the issue last year, it was the starters, which had a trickle down effect to the bench.

To me at least, the one question mark for this team is center. If Tarris can’t stay out of foul trouble, it puts a lot of pressure on a freshman who at this point, we have no clue what he’ll be. After that, if Koroma ends up getting meaningful minutes, we’ll either be really good or really bad.

Tbh, Reibe should eventually be fine because we need him and he’ll get a chance to play through mistakes.

It may not start off pretty, but he’ll eventually get better learning from the mistakes because we’ll need him.

 

[superjohn]

To be fair, for those saying we say this every year, we had some unbelievable depth 2 of the past 3 years. Last year’s “depth” is pretty clearly different than this year. And really depth wasn’t the issue last year, it was the starters, which had a trickle down effect to the bench.

To me at least, the one question mark for this team is center. If Tarris can’t stay out of foul trouble, it puts a lot of pressure on a freshman who at this point, we have no clue what he’ll be. After that, if Koroma ends up getting meaningful minutes, we’ll either be really good or really bad.

This year is going to be about the starters again. We probably have the best starting 5 in the country. We were deep in '24 but we had by far the best starting 5. They were so good Solo never played once we were at full strength.

 

[TheShot1990]

I agree that the biggest unknown is center. They are going to test Eric every time Tarris comes off the floor. I think Florida has about five 7 footers on their roster so we’ll find out early how deep we are at the 5.

 

[IndyLives]

we said this last year too lol

Lol. Whenever people throw out deep team labels. it usually means we don't have an elite Starting 5.

 

[UCan3]

Depth is overrated. You can only play 5 at a time.

The most dominant team this generation went 7 deep.

Having the most talented #10 player on the roster just doesn't impact winning.

We need an elite starting lineup and solid guys at 6-7-8.

It is overrated. But that being said, in 2023 when our 2nd team took the floor and it was as good, and in same cases better, than the first starting 5, that was an absolute nightmare for every team we played - it felt unfair at times.

I think that’s what Hurley set out to do with recruiting. I can see why certain players left or decided not to come - we are stacked at every position.

Obviously so many unknowns… Will players show what they’ve show in practice on the court when there’s fouls being called… We have no idea until we see them in November….

 

[JustbrewitMan]

Lol. Whenever people throw out deep team labels. it usually means we don't have an elite Starting 5.

Are you being contrarian just for the fun of being contrarian?

Because by all measures we will have an elite starting 5 this year.

 

[Chin Diesel]

Lol. Whenever people throw out deep team labels. it usually means we don't have an elite Starting 5.

This.

It's like having four a roster with four QB's all good enough to start. No bueno.

 

[jibsey]

I agree that the biggest unknown is center. They are going to test Eric every time Tarris comes off the floor. I think Florida has about five 7 footers on their roster so we’ll find out early how deep we are at the 5.

Correct. I think that Clingan was the wild card that made it go even in his first year when he only played 15 minutes a game. Our second unit not only kept up but often pushed out leads when they were brought in.
Reibe looks great on tape and has offensive skills but he’s going to have to defend, rebound and rise up to BE toughness. We now have a third guy who is 7’2” right?

 

[IndyLives]

Are you being contrarian just for the fun of being contrarian?

Because by all measures we will have an elite starting 5 this year.

I'm just saying when it comes to Tournament play or against elite teams, give me the players who can make a bucket or get a stop during crunch time. You usually don't get that from depth players. It's why we lost to Florida last year when it mattered. Depth can only get you so far.

 

[CTBasketball]

we always have fantasies of enormous depth before we play a game

You wanna talk depth I have a story for you.

 

[TheShot1990]

Correct. I think that Clingan was the wild card that made it go even in his first year when he only played 15 minutes a game. Our second unit not only kept up but often pushed out leads when they were brought in.
Reibe looks great on tape and has offensive skills but he’s going to have to defend, rebound and rise up to BE toughness. We now have a third guy who is 7’2” right?

We do but the guys on this forum who know basketball much better than we do say he’s not quite ready yet.

Good point on Clingan. When he subbed in for Sanogo, the looks from the opposition were “geez. This guy is the backup?????”

 

[B1GEast]

To be fair, for those saying we say this every year, we had some unbelievable depth 2 of the past 3 years. Last year’s “depth” is pretty clearly different than this year. And really depth wasn’t the issue last year, it was the starters, which had a trickle down effect to the bench.

To me at least, the one question mark for this team is center. If Tarris can’t stay out of foul trouble, it puts a lot of pressure on a freshman who at this point, we have no clue what he’ll be. After that, if Koroma ends up getting meaningful minutes, we’ll either be really good or really bad.

We've had deep teams before, but the quality of the depth in this team might be the highest.

I'm not so concerned about Tarris getting into foul trouble. Hurley has run smaller lineups in the past when he needed to.

This is really going to be fun to watch. The only problem I see is that egos might get crushed if some guys don't get minutes. There are a lot of new faces and Hurley needs to make sure that the guys in the locker room buy into his team concept or there will be mid season rumblings.

I hope and trust he can keep the ship straight

 

[REB1094]

I consider depth to be the the strongest players from spot #1 to the end of the rotation, not just how many serviceable players we have

The team to beat is 2023. The 8/9th guys were Diarra and Calcaterra. Technically in terms of minutes played it was Diarra and Clingan. But, like Reibe this year, Clingan was the clear backup C that was always going to get minutes every single game. He wasn’t that fringe rotation guy

PG - I’ll take Silas over 2023 Newton over the course of the entire season. I have high expectations. This could end up being wrong

SG - if Solo comes back with improved defense and a more developed scoring game, he wins. If he comes back as the same player, I go Hawkins. So call it a wash for now

SF - I’m calling this one a wash. Braylon is a better overall player than Andre Jackson, but 2023 doesn’t come close to happening without Andre. It’s really hard to compare value at SF

PF - 2026 Karaban > 2023 Karaban

C - giving the nod to Adama until Tarris proves me wrong

6-7th: Clingan and Alleyne should be > Stewart and Reibe

8-9th: Malachi and either Ross/Furphy vs. Diarra and Joey. This should go to the current team, assuming Malachi is healthy and one of Ross or Furphy steps up

So 3 positions in favor of 2026, 2 in favor of 2023, and 2 washes with some potential swings based on how Silas performs and how much Solo develops. AKA, impossible to tell until we see them play

 

[Umami Zen]

I'm just saying when it comes to Tournament play or against elite teams, give me the players who can make a bucket or get a stop during crunch time. You usually don't get that from depth players. It's why we lost to Florida last year when it mattered. Depth can only get you so far.

Our starters shot 7 for 27 from three pt range in the Florida game. We lost by two. If they shoot to their season averages-Maybe a different outcome. Woulda-Coulda-Shoulda

 

[jibsey]

We do but the guys on this forum who know basketball much better than we do say he’s not quite ready yet.

Good point on Clingan. When he subbed in for Sanogo, the looks from the opposition were “geez. This guy is the backup?????”

Been to Turkey. It’s not Disneyland coddling like America. As a a guy with international background he’s probably pretty resourceful, motivated and tough.

 

[HW611]

I consider depth to be the the strongest players from spot #1 to the end of the rotation, not just how many serviceable players we have

The team to beat is 2023. The 8/9th guys were Diarra and Calcaterra. Technically in terms of minutes played it was Diarra and Clingan. But, like Reibe this year, Clingan was the clear backup C that was always going to get minutes every single game. He wasn’t that fringe rotation guy

PG - I’ll take Silas over 2023 Newton over the course of the entire season. I have high expectations. This could end up being wrong

SG - if Solo comes back with improved defense and a more developed scoring game, he wins. If he comes back as the same player, I go Hawkins. So call it a wash for now

SF - I’m calling this one a wash. Braylon is a better overall player than Andre Jackson, but 2023 doesn’t come close to happening without Andre. It’s really hard to compare value at SF

PF - 2026 Karaban > 2023 Karaban

C - giving the nod to Adama until Tarris proves me wrong

6-7th: Clingan and Alleyne should be > Stewart and Reibe

8-9th: Malachi and either Ross/Furphy vs. Diarra and Joey. This should go to the current team, assuming Malachi is healthy and one of Ross or Furphy steps up

So 3 positions in favor of 2026, 2 in favor of 2023, and 2 washes with some potential swings based on how Silas performs and how much Solo develops. AKA, impossible to tell until we see them play

I think where 2023 separates itself is that if we did these comparisons by their defensive ability, everybody except Silas/Newton and Karaba/Karaban clears easily.

 

[RuffRuff]

I think where 2023 separates itself is that if we did these comparisons by their defensive ability, everybody except Silas/Newton and Karaba/Karaban clears easily.

Spot on - key to how good this team is will be driven by how much of a defensive upgrade we get with Silas/Mullins at the 1 & 3. Major reason that I don't see any way that Stew gets majority time at the 3 is that he will never be a great defender at the 3 and we really can't stay flat on that end. I'm limiting my expectations on any major defensive leaps by AK or Solo.

It's so hard to compare teams one for one - so much of it is about how the pieces fit together. That 23 team had amazing chemistry by end of year, everyone knew their roles and they were highly defined.

Similarly, Purdue's upside will be determined by their defense - their big 3 is nice on offense, not so much on defense.

 

[Tenspro2002]

It is overrated. But that being said, in 2023 when our 2nd team took the floor and it was as good, and in same cases better, than the first starting 5, that was an absolute nightmare for every team we played - it felt unfair at times.

I think that’s what Hurley set out to do with recruiting. I can see why certain players left or decided not to come - we are stacked at every position.

Obviously so many unknowns… Will players show what they’ve show in practice on the court when there’s fouls being called… We have no idea until we see them in November….

This is a fair point, but it still depends on what one means by "depth."

If you're saying "the first 3 guys off the bench aren't a big dropoff and can dominate the other team's second unit" then I agree that matters.

But the fact that we have plausibly-good players at like #9-11 on the roster, that's just never going to show up unless the team suffers a bunch of injuries (and then we're screwed anyway).

 

[HW611]

Spot on - key to how good this team is will be drive by how much of a defensive upgrade we get with Silas/Mullins at the 1 & 3. Major reason that I don't see any way that Stew gets majority time at the 3 is that he will never be a great defender at the 3 and we really can't stay flat on that end. I'm limiting my expectations on any major defensive leaps by AK or Solo.

It's so hard to compare teams one for one - so much of it is about how the pieces fit together. That 23 team had amazing chemistry by end of year, everyone knew their roles and they were highly defined.

Similarly, Purdue's upside will be determined by their defense - their big 3 is nice on offense, not so much on defense.

Yup. A lot offensively will depend on how Silas adjust to being the lead PG for this team. Hes going to have to find his groove between finding others and knowing when to find his.

Mullins defensively will be another thing to look out for. Will he be able to guard the other teams top wing player adequately? Jackson unquestionably could guard anyone 1-3. Same with Castle. Silas will for sure be able to guard a 1. But will Mullins be able to handle the AJ or Daryl Peterson assignment?

Those are my two biggest questions heading into the season that can determine how good we can be.